My Tinnitus Is Almost Gone After 3 Years: It's Now a Faint Ringing — No Longer Hyperacusis Either

How are you doing? I bookmarked your story for inspiration on low days. Hope you are continuing to do well.

twa

 

How are you doing?

 

@twa, what meds did you take that you think could have had an impact on your tinnitus if I may ask?

 

Yes I am, at low volumes. Sorry for the late response.

 

During your road to recovery, did exposure fo normal, everyday sounds without wearing earplugs worsen your hyperacusis and tinnitus? I have had hyperacusis and tinnitus for a little over a year, and I seem to be getting worse rather than experiencing any improvement.

 

It did make it worse in the first year. But that would subside within hours of having no exposure to any sounds.

My first year was the worst. The second year was just frustrating. The third year was demoralizing. The fourth year was hope. I’m almost down to a very faint ringing. I rarely wear any hearing protection now unless it’s a large gathering or sound event (movie theater, ceremony, music event).

 

Sorry for the delayed response. Year 4 has been a wonderful year. Every month seems to bring even more improvements. It’s a miracle I’ve come this far without completely losing my grip on reality.

It’s now at the phase where it’s mostly forgettable. The ringing continues to diminish each month and has stabilized to a much less harsh set of frequencies.

Hyperacusis is 100% gone. I can see the light at the end of tunnel.

How many people do you know have seen 100% recovery after 5+ years? That’s my hope.

 

None. Because they don’t exist.

If you allow your doctor to convince you to take benzos to help sleep, find a new doctor.

The only thing that works is to exercise like hell and eat well. No more junk food. Eventually your body will naturally heal itself the best it can. Exercise will naturally put you to sleep.

 

This gives me some hope.

The noise generators that I wear and the exposure to everyday sounds without earplugs seem to have caused a worsening of the hyperacusis and tinnitus but maybe it will take several years before I see any significant improvement. I am concerned that I continue to reach a new level of worsening with each day/week/month. I do still work out, take long walks, and work at my own business. I have found that talking on the phone is a problem. Habituation to the tinnitus would seem difficult to reach when the target keeps moving.

It sounds like your tinnitus actually decreased in severity/volume.

 

Any updates @Vii, @Fields?

 

Compared to September, I'd say my hyperacusis has improved quite a bit. Since onset, I feel it has improved by 85~90%.

Loud, low-tone sounds (such as a pile driver) don't bother me at all anymore. Not that I've been actively seeking them out, mind you. It's just loud, high-pitched sounds that still bother me.

A fire broke out while I was in the subway last week, and the door-override alarm gave me a bit of bother, but I could pretty much go on with my day. 2 years ago I would be writhing in pain.

So, the actual pain from loud, high-pitched noise has subsided tremendously. The pain has also become much more fleeting. Perhaps it might even be more of a mental thing now, rather than actual pain.

All in all, I feel like I'll probably fully recover from hyperacusis this year.

To give you an idea where my mind is at: I've been invited to the cinema next week, and I'm currently contemplating on whether I should go or not. However, if I decide to go, I'll definitely wear earplugs.

As for my tinnitus - no improvement whatsoever. It's a pretty constant 7/10. Perhaps a 6/10 on good days, and 8.5/10 on bad ones.

 

@Vii, I don't think it is fair to pin everything on age. Your unique situation is your unique situation. Some people are young and recover slow and some who are old recover fast. Age might have an impact on healing lots of things, but probably much less than you suggest and surely you experience is not proof.

 

Ugh I hope I can improve like people here. My tinnitus reacts to everything. I've been pretty much homebound worried about going out and doing anything to make it worse. I have stopped working and pretty worried about the state I am in. I've stopped wearing earplugs at home because I just can't take listening to the screaming tinnitus. I have loudness hyperacusis also.

I had intrusive tinnitus in January. It got worse in April with another noise exposure and then again worse late April from dog barking, loud tractor, LLLT and then a TMJ clinic putting CBD oil and hitting my jaw area with a laser also all in the same week and bam I had highly reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis. That was the day my nightmare began.

Hoping somehow I can get my normal life back again. Praying in a couple years I can have improvement. Because right now it's 24/7 hell and I hardly leave my room. I dunno how to treat it because it's so reactive.

 

@Travis Henry, LLLT worsened your tinnitus?

 

@Uklawyer, I'm sorry this has taken so long to reply. I started teaching and going to graduate school this year. I don't think any meds helped me much. I've taken supplements throughout this last 15 months. The one I have taken consistently is Turmeric with Curcumin gummies for inflammation, also Tart Cherry called Cherryflex. I did an anti-inflammatory diet for 10 months. I think lately, I've been resting a lot and taking time for me. I'm also swimming every day or every other day. I think rest and sleep help me most.

Best to you in your recovery~

 

This is very important. People can ruin improvements when they get more confidence. I'm living proof. The damage is cumulative and each time your tinnitus needs less and less sound to reborn, and it gets worse each time.

 

Hey Vii, was just wondering if you could share any lifestyle behaviours or changes you made that you think may have helped you healing from hyperacusis? I'm also curious to know whether you had any sound-induced neuralgia in your jaw/cheeks/neck/face?

 

Hey @Aaron91 -- When I got tinnitus in 2018 from a single dose of an anti-nausea medication, my fairly difficult hyperacusis went into overdrive. It was pretty unbelievable how even peeing was too much for my fragile ears (had to start peeing like a girl lol). It was very difficult for the next 2 years or so before it started to noticeably improve. In the past couple years, I'd say it's not only returned to baseline, but seems to have improved even more from that baseline.

I credit that to some kind of combination of a wide variety of things I've done to try to get my tinnitus to calm down. Which includes a variety of things I do to calm down my entire system. That ranges from stretching my ears every day, massaging them in a variety of ways, doing self-acupuncture in my ear areas, besides using DMSO (though I've been fairly negligent on that recently).

Most recently I discovered a supplement that seems to calm down my nervous system and my tinnitus. I'm guessing it probably helps my hyperacusis as well. I took some with me when I went to see my chiropractor last week, and he tried it while he worked on me. Before I left, he said that he definitely noticed a calming effect. The way I see it, anything that can calm things down is likely to (at least marginally) help with our overall hyperacusis/tinnitus situation.

Source Naturals Serene Science, GABA Calm - Supports A Calming Mood, Quick Dissolving Orange Flavor - 120 Lozenges

I also take the following supplement, which I think complements the above one really well.

Source Naturals Coenzymate B Complex - Orange Flavor That Melts in Mouth - B Vitamins - 120 Lozenges

 

Small update to those interested:

My hyperacusis has improved by more than 90%. I'm bit hesitant to say I've fully recovered from it, as I'm still really scared of loud noises. This is mostly a mental thing, though.

Whenever I'm faced with loud (high-pitched) noises, I still wince, but I don't think there's any real pain anymore. However, it does still affect my tinnitus.

Not sure if I've posted this earlier, but in September they're going to try to realign my jaw with help of a custom-made mouth guard. They're also going to check for a cyste/tumor on my temporomandibular joint.